The Closed Eyes Are Now Open
by kerrbear
Summary: SEQUEL TO OPEN YOUR EYES UP TO THE WORLD! It's been four years since Tohru's memories were erased, and the Sohma family has begun to move on. What happens when memories begin haunting Tohru and she goes looking for answers to her past? Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Liz-Kaguya, thanks for the title for the sequel! I really liked that idea! Anyway, here's the sequel for "Open Your Eyes Up to the World"! I hope you all enjoyed, and I hope the chapters don't come out too random like some of the other chapters in the first one. OK, where we left off was Tohru was engaged to an athletic American-Japanese guy, Melody is about four now, and after Akito's death Yuki became the head of the family. Thanks and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket!

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Twenty two-year-old Yuki Sohma sat alone in the dark room which he now called his home. It had now been four years since the erasing of Tohru Honda's memory. If he could, he would go back and do everything all over again. But, as it was, nothing like that is possible. For four years his family had steadily become worse in all ways.

Kisa, who was now a junior in high school, had become tougher over the years. Hiro had followed suit, and the two got into more and more trouble as the days in high school wore on. It was almost as if they both believed that there was no point to being nice to others, if eventually they were just going to disappear from their lives as Tohru had. Momiji had moved off to Germany to continue a career in music, he never visited the family anymore, the few times he did visit, he was mostly silent and never laughed anymore. Haru had grown distant from the family, as his black side raged more and more, and fewer people wished to be around him. Kagura had to go into a clinic. The depression from losing Tohru and Kyo in the same year had caused her to go into an institution to battle out her depression. Nobody really knew how Kyo was, as he was put into confinement and refused to speak to anybody. Hatori had become engrossed in his work, and only seemed to talk about medical needs now. Ayame, had even lost the light in his eyes, and he had closed down his shop after realizing that he didn't have the heart to make clothes anymore. Ritsu had just stopped seeing everybody all together. Shigure had also stopped a lot of his nonsense. He no longer joked around, or manipulated people anymore. He just kept to himself in his office and occasionally spoke to Hatori on the phone. His editor had even begun to worry about how he got everything in on time without a fuss.

And what had become of Yuki? Well, he spent most of his days in the labyrinths of Sohma house. The only time he ever spoke to his family was the monthly visits they had with him where they were to discuss what they had been up to for the past month. Now, the group was smaller, and nobody was really doing much of anything. Although he was not like Akito with his temper or his fascination with birds, he did happen to strike a certain fear to his family. This pained him the most, seeing as they had never treated him like that before. He hated to create rules for them, which was why he let them do whatever they wanted, as long as it meant not going up against him. He still found it awkward to tell his family what to do.

Yuki sighed in irritation, as his thoughts quickly turned to Tohru like they did so often. Where was the riceball now?

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"Hey Honda! The rice isn't going to cook itself!" A woman yelled impatiently.

Twenty two-year-old Tohru Honda jumped in surprise. "Right! My apologies!" She called as she gave a hurried bow to her boss who disappeared with a loud sigh.

Once again, the girl had been caught daydreaming. Her wedding was only four months away which was finally going to get her out of this financial rut she had dug herself into. After the car accident that had happened to Tohru four years ago, her life had changed dramatically. She had spent most of her life in extensive living facilities, and in therapists' offices. She was always in the hospital undergoing surgery to give her back her ability to walk and to see. Although her vision was sometimes blurry, and her legs did give out, she got along all right. This had caused her to go through a great deal of depression though, and she was also in physiatrists' offices. After the arrest of her ex-boyfriend Jake, and the birth of her daughter Melody, Tohru was finally able to move on with her life. She had caused quite a disappointment to her family, who was ashamed that she was a teenage mother. She also had to cancel her application for a college in America, which her family had insisted that she attend instead of wasting her life in a dead-end job.

Of course, here she was in a dead-end job. Tohru was constantly working shifts all the time. She now had two jobs instead of three, and it still took up most of her time she should be spending with her daughter. From five o'clock to eleven o'clock in the morning Tohru worked at a restaurant serving breakfast for the sleepy customers that came in early to start off their day. Then from about one o'clock and on she worked in a catering business. The only time she really saw her daughter was when she was sleeping. Her fiancée, who she had met at the restaurant she had first worked at, had started to live at her apartment when she was able to live on her own. He was the one that drove her daughter to preschool and then to daycare, or his parents' house, or she just spent the day with him. As of right now, Melody barely even knew who Tohru was, seeing as Tohru was working so much to afford the rent and preschool education every month. Although Tohru did love her fiancée, she mostly got annoyed whenever he didn't help her with any money needs she might have. Most of the time, the money he earned working at a car repair shop was used to buy Melody some toys, or to buy himself something new, occasionally he would buy Tohru something nice as well. Tohru also took the weekends off from work, but spent that time doing grocery shopping and getting work done around the house. If you think about it, she really didn't have much of a life at all, which was true. Her friend Arisa Uuotani had moved away to pursue a career in modeling, and her other friend Saki Hanajima had moved to France doing God knows what. Oh sure, there was the occasional phone call from time to time or an unexpected visit, but it wasn't the same. Her grandfather had died a year ago, and her aunt and uncle rarely ever spoke to her. It was a hard life for Tohru Honda, but it was a price that she had to live with.

&&&&&&

Kazuma Sohma sat in the kitchen watching as the hours ticked away before his first students arrived for the day. It was a hard life he had grown accustomed to. He never got to see his son, and Kagura and Haru had stopped coming for training. He never got a phone call from anybody, and his life was mostly a lonely one. He still missed the days when Kyo would come in to train, and would mostly spend his time talking of Tohru, or how much Yuki had made him angry that day.

Kazuma frowned at the thought of Tohru. It had been four hard years since Tohru had left their family with not one memory of them. Kazuma often missed her cooking and the times that she would come in to discuss with him of what was going on within the family, even with her disabilities, which he had heard were cured for the most part, she still had managed to come to see him. Kazuma could still remember when she had come that warm day to confide in him about finding a cure for the Zodiac curse. It was so long ago, but he had still felt a certain pang of hope at the thought that she might be able to cure everyone. Now, his heart only twisted with guilt as he realized that he had only taken advantage of the young girl to satisfy his own needs.

Kazuma hung his head sadly, it looked like his needs would never be fulfilled now.

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Seventeen-year-old Kisa Sohma walked the dark, empty streets of Japan in silence. Could this town be any duller? She knew Hatori was probably out looking for her right now, but she didn't care. She didn't need anybody. Her mother had abandoned her because she could no longer take the stress that Kisa was inflicting upon her. Now she lived with Hatori, who couldn't even control her. Once again, Kisa had gotten suspended for a fight she had started with another girl for calling her slut, now they were threatening to expel her. What did she care anyway? If it wasn't for the fact that Hatori was forcing her to stay in school, she would've dropped out a long time ago. As it was, she was all ready failing all of her classes. At the very last second, she would pull a passing grade and move onto the next grade level. Funny how everyone used to make fun of her, and now they all feared her. Kisa shrugged at the thought. All she wanted was a cigarette, and to find her buddy that was selling her favorite drug off the street. First, she just needed to find the perfect person to steal money from before she could get her prize.

Sure enough, she spotted a woman walking a little ways in front of her on the street. Odd how she was out so late at night, but she appeared to be lost, as she was looking at a small slip of paper muttering to herself. This woman was tall, and drop dead gorgeous from what it looked like. She was about six feet tall with a slim figure with curves in all the right places. She was probably the envy of all the girls at her school. The woman also had a cigarette poking out of her mouth. Jackpot! She could get money and a free pack of cigarettes all in one jump.

Kisa backed up a little bit before racing towards the woman, just as she approached her, the woman whipped around and grabbed Kisa's arm, which was a couple of inches away from her purse.

"What the hell do you think you're doing bitch? You were not just about to steal from me were you? That's a very stupid mistake to make." The woman said dangerously.

Kisa struggled from this woman's grip, but the woman managed to fight back and shoved her under a street lamp.

Both of the women stared at each other in obvious shock.

"Shit." Kisa muttered under her breath.

She had tried to steal from none other than the legendary Arisa Uuotani.

"Wait…Aren't you one of the Sohma kids? Kisa, right?" Uuo said cautiously.

"What's it to you?" Kisa snapped back.

"Don't you think your cousins are going to get just a little aggravated with the fact that you're now pick pocketing?"

"Whatever. It's not like they care anyway. I don't need anybody, I take care of myself." Kisa snapped.

"Oh, is that so? Well listen punk you picked a rotten night to screw with me. And don't think I'm still not pissed off at your family from what you did to Tohru." Uuo said angrily.

Kisa's eyes narrowed. "We didn't do nothing to your little perfect princess." She spat.

"Really? That's funny. Then how come right after her daughter was born, she all of a sudden magically forgot who you were? She was looking at me as if I had just sprouted an extra head. And when I mentioned that she lived with the Sohmas, she only laughed at the ridiculous idea. I don't know what your family did to her, but all I know is that your family was fucked up right from the beginning." Uuo snapped.

Kisa glowered at her. "Tohru's the one who's fucked up. She was the one who chose to forget."

Uuo slammed her head hard against the street lamp. "Big talk coming from a little shrimp. Let's see how tough you are when I drag you back to your house."

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Kisa glared at Uuo who had dragged her all the way back to the main house, only to discover that Hatori had gone down to Shigure's place. This only led to the blonde woman to start swearing. Not only was this a huge waste of her time, but she really did not want to run into the "writer guy" again. Still, Kisa's act was not about to go unpunished. Nobody messed with her and got away with it.

Still, Uuo could only frown, remembering what a sweet little girl Kisa had once been. What had happened to her? Sure Uuo generally hated the Sohmas for doing whatever the hell it was they did to Tohru, but she was still concerned with the sudden change in attitude with Kisa. She hadn't seen or heard from the Sohmas in years. So, were they all like that? And what had become of Prince Charming and Orange Top?

Uuo approached the door to Shigure's house and knocked loudly on the door.

A few moments passed before the door slowly opened to reveal Shigure standing in the doorway. Almost immediately he glared at Kisa who glared right back.

He turned to Uuo and asked slowly, "Are you a cop?"

Uuo stared at him in surprise. By this time, Hatori had appeared behind Shigure, who was also glaring at Kisa. Both of the men really hadn't changed much, except for a few worry lines on their facial features.

"No, I'm an old friend. I came back into town only to be jumped by your cousin. I thought I might as well return her to you and let you handle the discipline.

Shigure squinted at Uuo for a moment before something came over his face. "Arisa Uuotani, the Yankee. Long time, no see."

Uuo smirked at him. "None other than. I'm surprised you still even remember me, seeing as you seemed to have forgotten Tohru so easily."

By this point, Hatori had dragged Kisa into the house and there was loud arguing in the background.

Shigure's eyes grew sad. "I haven't forgotten about Tohru, but dark times have come over our family and it's best that she no longer lives with us anymore." He said bluntly.

Uuo blanched at him. "But…You're her guardian you can't just…"

"I was her guardian, I'm not anymore. I think I've said enough for one day, enjoy the rest of the night."

Before she could even reply, the door was closed in her face.

Uuo stood there for a moment. That was unlike Shigure. And what did he mean by "dark times have come over our family and it's best that she no longer lives with us"? What had become of that family? They always had been strange, but never like this before.

Uuo sighed and turned back to the slip of paper. It was time to continue her original reason of why she was here, to visit Tohru.

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Tohru rolled over in her bed to the sound of a persistent knocking. She gave out a loud groan and stumbled over to the door. She flung it open to reveal Uuo standing there smiling at her.

"Surprised much?" Uuo said excitedly.

"I think it would just be easier if you called first." Tohru mumbled.

"So, I saw Shigure last night." Uuo said slowly as she walked into the apartment.

"Who?" Tohru said, beginning to rub her temples.

"Shigure Sohma. You know, Yuki's perverted novelist cousin?" Uuo said, turning to face her.

Tohru stared at her blankly. "And I'm supposed to know him how…?"

"Oh come on Tohru. I don't get it. What's up with this? You don't remember anybody. What the hell happened while you were in that house?"

"Uuo, we've been through this before. I never lived with Yuki and his family. I don't know who any of these people are." Tohru said in exasperation.

"You did live with them! You knew every single one of them. They were you're family how could you not…"

"…Everytime you come over you always do this! Why do you always try to convince me about things that never happened? It's just because you don't like my current living situation isn't it?" Tohru said impatiently.

"Yeah, I'm not happy with how you're living, but come on, I wouldn't lie about this. Even Hana's tried to convince you, I don't know why you can't remember." Uuo said angrily.

"Listen, you're here let's not get into an argument about nothing again. Let's just have a nice time for the short time you're here." Tohru said in exasperation as she went into her room to go change.

She hated it when Uuo did things like that. Everytime she saw her, the first thing she always mentioned was some person that she didn't know, and it was beginning to frustrate Tohru.

What really made Tohru feel so uneasy, was that ever since Uuo had started mentioning these people, she would always hear these voices in her head, sometimes even see faces. She knew that she didn't know them, but still, the voices sounded so familiar.

Tohru closed her eyes, as a prickling sensation filled the back of her head. Now they just seemed to come at will.

_"Did you know that Hari can barely see out of his left eye? Hari had a girlfriend once, Kana. I remember that she was really nice. When she found out about the Zodiac, it didn't even bother her. She just laughed about it."_

"_Don't strain yourself. We'll come back when it's light out. I'm sure your mother's just happy it wasn't you in there, right?"_

"_That is the cat's true form. Do you find it revolting?"_

"_I never thought anyone would say those words to me…Not to me."_

"_Is that all we do is run? Is that all we do?! Well I for one am tired of running. I don't want to do it anymore!" _

"_Say it, say that you'll never get involved with the Sohmas again!"_

Tohru gasped, as she forced herself to block out the voices. She wondered if this was just paranoia, or a sign that her depression was coming back. Maybe that didn't make any sense, but what other reason was there? Was she going crazy from too much work?

"_I really must be dreaming mom. Everyone's turning into animals!"_

"Shut up." Tohru said through gritted teeth as her voice echoed in her head.

Maybe this was just her imagination, and Uuo's crazy ideas were starting to get to her. But even so, Tohru wondered if maybe there really had been a time where she had lived with the Sohmas. If that was so, then why couldn't she remember them?

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Yay! First chapter done! I hope it wasn't too bad. Reviews are always great, along with helpful advice to make this story even better and more enjoyable! Thanks for reading!


	2. Please Tell Me Who I Am

Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 2!

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Another day, another Monday. Tohru's weekend had been uneventful as usual. Uuo had stayed for about a day and a half before she was called back to work again. Tohru had also received a phone call from Hana on Sunday, but once again, just an ordinary weekend.

The voices had started to come on more frequently since the weekend, and Tohru was really annoyed by this point. She was planning on seeing her psychiatrist about it after she got off her shift.

It was only nine thirty now, and Tohru gave out a sigh as she began to get a headache. New customers had just walked in, and she went over to serve them.

"Tell me again why I'm here?" A man said with tousled black hair.

"Why Shigure, all you've been doing is sulking in your house, my goodness it's time that you got out more." A man said who was sitting beside the man he was addressing. This man had long white hair and bright gold eyes.

Another man was sitting across from the two with brown hair that covered one half of his face.

Tohru's mind began to spin as familiar faces and visions came rushing back to her along with what Uuo had said on Saturday.

"_So, I saw Shigure today. You know, Yuki's perverted novelist cousin?" _

The man who had been addressed as Shigure gave out a loud sigh but seemed to hold back from arguing, as he probably knew it was a lost cause.

Tohru began to make her way over to the men, and began to feel slightly uncomfortable as she got closer to them. What if they recognized her and bombarded her with questions?

Tohru took a deep breath and approached the men, and smiled at them.

"Hi, I'm Tohru and I'll be your server this morning, can I start you off with something to drink, or are you all set to order?"

The three men turned to stare at her, and Tohru could feel her face begin to flush. She noticed that the man Shigure had stiffened slightly.

Finally the auburn haired man said that they needed more time and Tohru quickly disappeared.

Tohru took a long breath and she watched as the three men argued in hushed voices. Shigure looked angry while the two others were trying to reassure him of something.

They definitely knew her. Maybe they didn't realize how much their faces had given away but they definitely knew her. After a time the men moved to a different table and got served by another waitress.

Tohru frowned. Obviously she had done something to these men that had upset them, the question was, what was it?

&&&&&&

Tohru sat still as her psychiatrist pondered over what Tohru had just explained to her, including what had happened at the restaurant.

"Are you sure that you can't recall doing anything to these men that might have offended them?" Her psychiatrist asked softly.

"How can I know what I did if I don't even know them? They were uncomfortable around me, and that's what doesn't make any sense!" Tohru exclaimed impatiently.

"Are you sure your mind isn't tricking you? Sometimes depression can cause you to make up things that aren't really there."

"I'm not depressed anymore! And what are you saying, that they weren't there, that they don't exist? I'm having memories of them, and my friends know who they are!"

"Maybe your friends are playing a trick on you, and you're starting to fall for it." Her psychiatrist said soothingly.

Tohru gave out an exasperated sigh and stood up.

"I'm sorry, this appointment has just been a huge waste of our time. You're not listening to what I'm telling you at all." Tohru said.

"It's not that I'm not listening Tohru, it's just that you're still very fragile and unstable, are you still taking those anti-depressants I prescribed to you?"

Tohru sighed again and stormed out of the office. Before she left she could hear her psychiatrist calling after her, but this time, she didn't look back like she normally did.

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"Tohru? Are you all right? Your psychiatrist called me. She's very concerned about…your condition."

Tohru turned around and glared at her fiancée.

"Ken, everything is fine. It's just something that came up." Tohru said exasperated.

"That's not what she said. You're hearing voices now? I told her how you stopped taking your medication, and how much you're working lately. She thinks that these voices might be caused from too much stress, and the fact that you're not…"

"…I'm working hard because I'm the only one who's really helping this family! All you've been doing is going out and buying stupid things that we don't need! I don't need my medication anymore. I'm fine!" Tohru snapped.

"You're not fine. You've never talked to me like this before. Tohru, come on. Tell me what's wrong. Tell me about these people that you've been hearing…"

"No! Because then you'll just think I'm even more nuts. Not to mention that my psychiatrist all ready explained to you that it's all just "paranoia". You wouldn't get it."

"Maybe we should check you into a clinic and then maybe…"

"A clinic? Ken, are you for real right now? I don't need to go into a clinic. You're not listening to me. I'm fine, there's nothing wrong, everything's okay. You can stop worrying about me and going into all of this ridiculous nonsense." Tohru said.

"I'm only doing this because I love you." Ken said softly.

"_I didn't think anyone would say that to me…Not to me."_

Tohru covered her ears as Ken continued to talk.

"See? Now you're blocking me out. I know what this is about…You're jealous because Melody loves me more than you do."

"_Now when you punch, you have to put your whole body into it." _

And before Tohru even knew what she was doing, she had punched him hard in the mouth.

"Don't you ever talk like that about my daughter. Don't you ever say who she loves more and how much I love her you low life." Tohru said darkly.

And with that, she picked up her bag and stormed out the house.

"Wait, Tohru, where are you going?" Ken asked, as he still covered his mouth.

"Away from you!" She snapped.

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Now where was she? What was she doing here? Tohru looked around. She had obviously run into the woods without thinking, and now she was completely lost. Up ahead, she could see a house and she made her way towards it.

She stopped as she approached it. There was something wrong here. There was something all too familiar about this place.

Tohru closed her eyes and covered her ears just as memories started flooding back to her.

There she was talking to Shigure about the zodiac statues he had just painted; Her beginning to panic as Kyo came crashing through the roof and asked for a fight with Yuki; Her talking to Yuki up on the rooftops of the school just as Hatori and Momiji had left; Her racing into the woods after Kyo had taken off on that rainy night when she had seen his true form…

"Excuse me, miss? Are you all right?" A voice said, touching her shoulder.

She turned around into none other than the face of Shigure Sohma himself.

He frowned. "Aren't you the woman from the restaurant this morning? What are you doing in front of my house?"

Tohru stared at him for a moment. He stared right back at her, a mix of worry and impatience written on his features.

"Well, if you're not going to respond then I guess I'll just…" Shigure stopped as Tohru grabbed his sleeve.

"Who am I?" She whispered.

"What do you mean? You're name's Tohru isn't it?" Shigure asked solemnly.

"That's not what I mean. Who was I before this?" Tohru said desperately.

"I wouldn't know. I just met you this morning." Shigure said.

"No, you knew me before. I saw it, in your face. Your friends knew me too. Please just tell me who I am and I'll leave you alone…"

"Do you need a doctor?" Shigure asked as worry came over his features.

"Shigure please don't do this…"

"TOHRU!"

Tohru turned around slowly as Ken raced towards her.

"What are you doing here? Sir, I'm terribly sorry if my wife was bothering you, she doesn't know what she's talking about. She's extremely unstable and…"

"I'm not your wife. Not yet I'm not." Tohru said quietly.

"See, the poor woman. We're planning on sending her to a clinic in the morning." Ken said nervously.

"What? Ken I told you not to do that! It's unnecessary!" Tohru screamed, her voice rising in panic.

"Now, now. Your psychiatrist said it was for the best." Ken said patting her on the head.

She looked at Shigure and saw pity written all over his features. Pity for the poor insane woman…Or was it something else?

"Terribly sorry again for the trouble." Ken said, as he dragged Tohru off back towards the house.

Tohru looked back and still saw Shigure staring at her with that same look on his face, with also a look of sadness.

&&&&&&

Tohru hated Ken and her psychiatrist right now as they gave out strict orders to the doctors. She couldn't believe this was happening. Melody was in Ken's arms as he continued to talk to the doctors. They were taking her away from everything, from her daughter, from her job, from her home…

Two of the doctors slowly took her arms and led her down the hallway with the white walls and the white doors, leading her farther and farther away from the real world. Her instinct was to run, but she knew she couldn't, or else they would surely label her insane.

"Now, we'll leave you with your roommate, Kagura. I'm sure you'll get to know each other very well for the next month while we watch your progress." One of the men said happily as he pushed her into the white room and closed the door.

Tohru turned and looked around the room, and her eyes finally landed on her "roommate". The young woman slowly raised her eyes to her. Dull, gray eyes stared at her, and her shoulder length brown hair hung limply around her shoulders. She was very pale and very thin, and another voice rang in Tohru's head, very clearly, revealing the same girl that was sitting before her.

"_I'm Kagura. Kagura Sohma." _

Tohru backed up against the wall, as Kagura followed her every move.

"So, you've finally come back." Kagura said monotonously.

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Hope you liked the second chapter. Once again, reviews are always good and welcome along with helpful advice! Thanks for reading!


	3. Come Back

OK, I'm bored, and I am now officially addicted to this story. This is the first time I've ever updated the same story in the same day. I also know what Hatori feels like because I bashed my eye into my ski ball table and it didn't stop bleeding for ten minutes. No worries though, I am okay! Anyway, now that you've learned that pointless information on how much of a clutz I am, here's chapter three!

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Tohru watched Kagura nervously. Both girls stood motionless as they stared at the other. It was beginning to get very uncomfortable and unnerving. All Tohru could see were the dull, gray eyes of the young woman.

"Do you remember me?" Kagura asked slowly.

Tohru looked at her closely. Memories flashed before her eyes of her and she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yes." She said softly.

Kagura smiled. "I knew you would remember, I told Hatori you would, you would never give up on us." Kagura said happily.

"Give up? What do you mean?" Tohru asked as her head began to spin.

"You would never give up on freeing us." Kagura replied.

"Freeing you…?"

"Yes, from the curse…The zodiac curse. Remember?" Kagura asked.

"_Everyone's turning into animals!"_

"_Tohru, I'm a dog. Yuki here is a rat. That's Kyo, in case you couldn't tell he's a cat. Whenever our bodies are under a great deal of stress or a member of the opposite sex hugs us we transform into the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac…Sorry! The twelve animals of the zodiac plus the cat."_

"_This is the cat's true form."_

"_Kyo will be confined by the time graduation is over."_

"_To the junishi (sp?) Akito is special. A God-lIke figure." _

"_We see the cat as some sort of relief." _

"You…Were the boar…" Tohru said softly.

"Ah…I see it's starting to come back to you a little bit. To us you were our savior, the one person who could rescue us and set us free from the curse, do you understand now?" Kagura asked.

"No, but I'm sure in time I will." Tohru said determinedly.

Kagura gave a small smile. "That's the spirit, and I know that this time you will not fail us."

&&&&&&

"Tell me who I was before all of this, and why I can't remember any of you." Tohru pleaded.

Kagura nodded and went into the long story of the Sohmas, the curse, and the journey they experienced with Tohru Honda. Through it all, Tohru listened intently. A few times she even nodded in recognition. But Kagura knew that to Tohru, this was probably nothing but a story. Still, she had to make her remember. For the sake of herself, her family, and for the taste of freedom. The one thing that she had always dreamed of…Being free. The one thing that Tohru could give her.

The problem was that even if Tohru remembered, her memories would surely be erased again by Hatori, as was the way. If a memory is erased, it must remain that way.

So, she finished the story, and decided to go to bed. But she knew she had left Tohru with a strong message. The message of how much she meant to her family, and how much she had influenced all of them. And that she, and only she alone could save them now.

&&&&&&

_Darkness, that was all she saw. She was swimming in darkness. She had to start working backwards. She couldn't stay in the darkness forever. She had to start moving back towards the light…_

_The light…_

_The voices…_

_She wanted to be with them, she wanted to laugh with them, and talk with them, and listen to them. _

"_Take me to them." She whispered. _

_In a flash of bright light she was whipped backwards as figures and images flashed before her back to the day she had first met the Sohmas, and from there she began to move forward until she was once again in the darkness. _

"_I don't belong here, and I will not remain here!" She screamed at the dark abyss, and she fought, willing all of the Sohmas to help her and slowly she reached out to the light that was slowly coming back. _

_She could hear voices calling her, calling her name, asking for her to save them, closer, closer, closer…_

&&&&&&

Tohru sat up with a jolt and looked around the room she was in. It all came rushing back to her, and she looked at Kagura who was still sleeping.

She remembered. Every vivid detail of every waking moment she had spent with the Sohmas all came back to her.

Tears streamed down her face. She had failed them, she had given up, she hadn't fought back the suppression. She had let it come. She was such an idiot. And she had promised that she would never let her memory get erased because every memory was precious to her, and look it what she had done, she had betrayed them. No wonder they had all slowly fallen apart.

She took a huge breath. She had to think. Yuki was now God, Kyo was in confinement. Momiji was in Europe, Haru was God knows where, everyone else was scattered all over Japan. She had to bring them all together. But how could she do that? And what would she even do once she got them all together?

She sat there pondering this for a moment, after all, what could a mere young woman like herself do?

She snapped her fingers. She had a plan.

&&&&&&

One month passed before Tohru could put her plan into action. This was the day where she would be set free. She waited patiently in the lobby until Ken came to pick her up. He consulted with the doctors for awhile before approaching her.

Tohru gave an innocent smile and followed Ken out of the clinic.

"So, how are you? Are you feeling better?" Ken asked uncomfortably.

"Perfect." Tohru said with a warm smile.

Ken gave a nod, and shifted his weight.

"You know Ken, you were right. Going into the clinic was the best thing for me." Tohru said, moving closer to him.

"It was? I mean…I knew you would finally see it that way." Ken said triumphantly.

"Yes. While I was in there, I made friends with this wonderful girl. She showed me how much of a low life you are and how I can do so much better which I can. So, thanks Ken, for finally opening my eyes up to the truth." Tohru said with a smile.

Ken stared at her dumbfounded. "I…What?" Ken said.

"I'm breaking up with you. Everything is off. Thanks." Tohru said, placing her engagement ring in his hand.

"Wait, Tohru, you can't do this." Ken said desperately.

"Really? Watch me. I'm about to turn around and walk out of your life forever with my daughter in tow and return to my real family." Tohru said with a smile.

"Tohru…I can walk in there right now and…"

"Have a nice life Ken." Tohru said with a smile.

And with that, she did just that, walked out of his life for good.

&&&&&&

Tohru approached Sohma house through the secret entrance Momo had showed her that one time. She had left Melody with a woman she worked with until she could figure out what she was going to do.

She walked boldly into one of the doors and walked down the halls searching for the room she was looking for.

Finally, she found it. The door was locked, and she gritted her teeth in anger. She quickly left to find something to pry the door open with, hoping at the same time that nobody would see her and alert anybody.

&&&&&&

Darkness. Darkness had become his friend…His life. It surrounded him at all times, and it was his only friend. The only thing that listened to him, that heard him when he cried out in the night, and offered him comfort in his never-ending loneliness. Nobody could ever love him.

Then, something alien entered his dark world, a shaft of light. Who would dare to visit him?

The door opened fully, and he knew he had to be dreaming, it couldn't be her. It could never ever be her. She had disappeared from his life; she had abandoned him. Yet there she was. Standing there panting and looking panicked.

Then her voice echoed through the still, empty room. The voice that he had so longed to hear for four years.

"Kyo, it's okay. I'm here now. I won't leave you again. I promise."

Tears streamed down their faces as they looked at each other. Kyo stood up and circled his arms around Tohru, and the two lovers were reunited once again.

&&&&&&

I know it was a little rushed, but you can't really do much in a clinic for crazy people for a number of chapters. This is not even the end. This is only the beginning of a long story of deception, and a race against time to stop the curse. So please stay tuned, and continue reading. Reviews are still very much welcome!


	4. To Start Again

Thanks for the reviews! Here's Chapter four!

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Kyo smiled at her. "How…?"

"It's a long story. But let's just say that Kagura was a major part of it."

Kyo frowned. "How did you see Kagura? Did she escape from the clinic?"

Tohru laughed. "Nope. I was her roommate for a month."

Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"Like I said, it's a long story." Tohru said again.

"Well, now what? Somebody's either seen you, or is going to see you." Kyo said.

"Right, which is why you're here to help me." Tohru said cheerfully.

"What?"

&&&&&&

Tohru approached Shigure's house and turned back to Kyo to make sure he was still hiding in the trees. He gave her a reassuring smile, and she nodded in return.

She took a deep breath, and slowly opened the door.

The first thing she heard was Ayame's loud voice which she instantly panicked as she heard Hatori yelling at him, followed by Shigure starting to laugh.

Tohru took slow breaths and tried to calm down her heart, which was beating a mile a second. If Hatori were here he would surely erase her memories again. She couldn't let that happen, not now.

She still stood in the doorway as a teenage girl came clomping down the stairs. She had orange-blonde hair and bright amber eyes, she was a little tall, and she was dressed in black.

Tohru instantly recognized her as Kisa. Her heart began to speed up again. She had to remember that these people had changed and that they probably weren't the same person that she remembered, especially Kisa from what she had heard from Kagura.

Kisa glanced up just as she was approaching the kitchen and spotted her. Tohru mentally hit herself for not hiding. Kisa stared at her for a long moment, an indignant look on her face, as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Tohru remained still, waiting to see what she was going to do. She seemed to be having a mental argument with herself. She hesitated as she looked at the door leading to the kitchen, and the hallway where Tohru was. Finally, she slowly approached Tohru and grabbed her arm.

"Don't make me regret this." She whispered as she pulled her up the stairs.

&&&&&&

Tohru shifted uncomfortably at the bed that had once been hers, but was now Kisa's. The whole room was different, everything was covered with posters, pictures, CDs, almost as if you covered enough space it would just erase her.

Although Kisa did live with Hatori, most of the times he sent her over to Shigure's house whenever she really made him angry.

Now, Tohru was waiting for Kisa to say something as she played with the comforter on her bed.

"I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to bring you up here. I don't even know what to say to you." Kisa said quietly, not meeting her eyes.

Torhu smiled. "It's okay. It's just amazing how beautiful you've become. After all, you went from such a little girl to this young woman before me. I just wish I could've been here to see it. I guess this just means that we have a lot of catching up to do."

"How…Can you say things like that? You're so happy…Why? If you saw the real me you wouldn't be happy to see me at all." Kisa said.

"That's not true, just as long as we're talking and we're seeing each other, that's all that matters to me." Tohru said.

"You don't get it. I'm not the same person I once was. I'm not afraid of anyone anymore, I start fights, I'm failing my classes, I'm always suspended, and…I'm on drugs." Kisa said slowly.

Tohru looked at her in surprise. "Well…Why do you think you started all of that? Why do you think you decided to change?"

"...You were gone. You just disappeared from our lives, and everyone expected us to move on like everything was okay, and it wasn't. You were the motherly figure in my life, and you were the one who always listened and understood me. But, when you were gone…Everything just felt so empty, you know? As if there was no point on making friends or having people listen to you. I couldn't put my trust in anybody, because I knew that if I did, they'd hurt me like you did. So that's probably when I started drugs, and that's probably why my mother abandoned me." Kisa said, too ashamed to even look at her.

"You know, I can see why you did all of that, but a the same time I can't. There are always going to be people leaving you. Whether they died, or moved away, or you just drifted apart from each other. But, either way, you shouldn't remember when they left, you should remember the great times you spent with them before they left, and that way, your life's just a little bit easier." Tohru said.

"But…You were the light…My hope, everything. When you were around, I always believed everything was okay. And then you were gone, and I was no longer so sure of myself."

"Why didn't you go to Hatori? Or somebody at least?"

"Because…He doesn't care about me…He never did." Kisa said.

Tohru laughed a little. "Well, then can you explain to me why he was so worried when you stopped talking, or how he always let you tag along when you visited Shigure's house? And after my memory was erased, did he not comfort you? And when you were living with him did he not want you to talk to him so he could listen to what was wrong? You don't think he was worrying about you? I bet he was. Maybe you might not see it that way, but I'm sure if you asked him, he would tell you how much he worries over you all the time."

Kisa looked up at her in surprise. She always knew just what to say, and she was always right, in every single way.

"But…How can I tell him…my condition…Without him criticizing me?" Kisa asked uncertainly.

"Just tell him to not think or judge, and to just listen. It's always better when you're listening and not doing anything else, because everything seems a lot clearer." Tohru said.

"It'll be hard…" Kisa said, trailing off.

"But you'll have family there to help you along the way." Tohru finished for her with a smile.

Kisa smiled back, and hugged her tightly. "Hey Tohru? I'll do all of that right now if you promise not to leave this family again." Kisa said, as tears streamed down her face.

"It's a promise." Tohru said.

A few minutes later…

Kisa descended the stairs and entered the kitchen. Hatori looked up from talking to Ayame and Shigure and looked at her worriedly.

"Kisa? Were you…?"

"Don't think or judge, just listen." Kisa said, as she sat down at the table.

&&&&&&

Tohru smiled as she came out of the house.

"Well, did you talk to him?" Kyo asked as he hopped out of the tree he was sitting in.

"Nope. I talked to Kisa. And I've decided that I'm not going to talk to Shigure the way I was originally going to. I'm going to talk to everybody as an individual so I can understand where they're coming from before I fully step back into their lives." Tohru said.

"I'll come with you if you want…Just tell me who you want to see next."

"The head of the family himself…Yuki." Tohru said.

"I'll wait outside the door." Kyo said as he grimaced at the thought of possibly seeing the rat again if only it's at a glimpse.

&&&&&&

Tohru smiled reassuredly at Kyo before sliding open the door and stepped inside to the room she remembered Akito sitting in.

It's was almost eerie to see Yuki in the room now in the same position Akito had mostly been in whenever she had seen him. Memories flashed back of the encounters she had had with Akito, and she quickly pushed them away, not wanting to let her fears get in the way of what she had to do.

She knelt down in front of Yuki and bowed, waiting for him to say something.

"There's no need to bow. I'm nothing special. I'm still just the rat." Yuki drawled out lazily.

Tohru sat up and looked at him. "Yuki…I…"

"Don't say anything…What do you want? You are not allowed here, and you are not supposed to know who I am." Yuki said impatiently.

Tohru frowned. "Yuki…This isn't like you…What's the matter? Are you not happy here?" Tohru asked slowly.

"Happy? How can I be happy here? My family looks at me with fear, I never asked to be God in the first place, and now I have no choice or say in the matter. As you can see, the bitterness of God is all ready sinking into my veins as it did with Akito." Yuki said monotonously.

"The Yuki I once knew wouldn't have given in like this." Tohru said softly.

"The Yuki you once knew is gone, Miss Honda. I have no choice as to which I am now; it's not my place to say who I want to be and who I don't want to be. Who I am has all ready been chosen for me." Yuki said.

Tohru stared at him for a while. "But Yuki…If you could just…"

"…Miss Honda! You're lucky right now that I haven't called for anyone yet, if I were you I suggest you leave before I change my mind." Yuki said in a dismissive manner.

Tohru's eyes narrowed. "Yuki, you always talked about how heartless Akito was, but how I see it, that's what you've become. You've neglected your own feelings and you've just given in to what it is you have to be. You can fight back and change. Maybe then, your family will not fear you. But it's all up to you. I just know that the Yuki I once knew would never act like this no matter what."

"Maybe this is who I always have been." Yuki said.

"No, I don't believe that. I don't think you could be like that if you tried."

And with that, she walked away and left.

Yuki sat there for a moment pondering over what this wise woman had just told him.

_"You don't have to be anybody. If you want to be somebody, only you can decide that, nobody else can choose your personality."_

Yuki sighed. He knew he should be calling out to somebody and asking for them to capture Tohru so that her memories could get erased, but he couldn't.

Tohru had always been dear to him. For so long he had wanted to see her and to hear her voice. And, now here she was back in his life again. And he had turned so cruel and cold for the decision that had been made for him, when he had no choice. Yet, there she was telling him it wasn't too late for him to choose who he wanted to be. Here she was telling him that he could still change, that she still believed in him. That was all he had wanted to hear; was that somebody believed in him, without there being fear in their voices.

Yuki wept, he would change for the better…He had to…For Miss Honda…That one person who had always believed in him.

&&&&&&

Sorry, I had a hard time ending this chapter, but I decided this would be a good place to stop. Please leave a review on the way out, thanks!


	5. The Consequences of Remembering

Hey! Here's chapter 5! Unfortunately updates will become less frequent as school is starting up again on Monday and everything. I will try to update as much as I can for everybody though! So hang in there and keep reading!

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Kyo couldn't even remember when he first fell in love with Tohru. Maybe it was when he had first met her after falling through the roof, or maybe it was after she discovered his true form. Either way, he had always viewed her as a very special person, someone more than just a friend.

He remembered when Tohru had first found out that she was pregnant with Melody, how much of a shock that was. He had also become jealous when Tohru had chosen Shigure of all people to be the fatherly figure for her unborn daughter. He had been so jealous of Shigure after he found that out, and the fact that Tohru and Shigure seemed to have gotten closer. It turned out that there had never been a romantic relationship going on. He had gotten himself worked up for absolutely nothing.

Still, after she left, it was the first time he realized how close the family had become with her around. Even when he was put in confinement, it was almost as if they didn't want to do it, because they knew that if Tohru were here she never would have allowed for him to be locked away. Yet, even when he was confined he would still sometimes hear her voice, and other times he would just sit there and wait for her to just come flying in, laughing and freeing him. After a while, he had given up that hope.

Yet, here she was trying to patch up the damage she had caused when she left. And here she was slowly warming up the hearts of everyone again. He knew that this was too good to be true. Eventually he would be locked away again, and who knew what they would even do to Tohru? For the mean time though, he would just have to make the best of it.

&&&&&&

Music seemed to be thumping everywhere. It was all around him. Above, below, and from all angles the music pounded. It was funny how he had become so used to these college parties that seemed to occur every weekend in his dorm.

His friends had begged him to come party with him, but he had politely declined. Now, he stood alone in his room while everyone else was having fun.

He gave out a loud sigh. He knew he would have to go home soon, the truth of the matter was, he really didn't want to. It was too depressing, up here everyone was at least laughing. Yeah, so he wasn't as fun as he used to be, and sure he wasn't all that happy that much either, but it was lots better here than it was back at home.

Then again, maybe things were improving. Hatori had e-mailed him just the other day to say that Kagura was being released from the clinic, and he had finally had a break through with Kisa. He didn't exactly know what had caused them to improve, but the point was that they were at least getting better…Unlike him.

There were still many times where he would often think of Tohru. She was the one that had always managed to make his day worthwhile, and who was always there to listen. When she had left, there had been a change. She was the one person who supported him with everything he did, and now he had no one.

He sighed and went over to the window and looked out at the stars and thought of happier days, which was what he often did nowadays.

Now, he slowly pulled out his violin and played the song he had been practicing for so many years, knowing that he would never get to play for his number one fan.

Throughout all the thumping music, a sad song began to play, and rang throughout the night.

_When you wish upon a star_

_Makes no difference who you are,_

_Anything your heart desires _

_Will come to you…_

&&&&&&

Tohru returned to the main house the following day and got ready to knock on the door to Hatori's office. She couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. After all, Hatori was one of the adults that were most loyal to God, and he was also the one that had the powers of memory suppression. Plus, she really had never spoken to Hatori unless she was sick, or if they were just making idle conversation. That was what she remembered it being like anyway. Although she did have her memory back, parts of it were still a little fuzzy, and there were little details that seemed to be missing from some of her memories.

Cautiously, she lifted her fist and gave out a tentative knock, and heard a grunt that was usually the sign to come in.

Tohru took a deep breath and slowly opened the door, and stepped within Hatori's office. It was still the same, as it always was, neat, and yet cluttered, all at the same time. She spotted Hatori bent over his desk surrounded by a mound of paperwork, which was typical for him. Hatori still hadn't glanced up, and Tohru was pondering on whether she should interrupt him or not.

As she stood contemplating this, Hatori glanced up from writing something, and he stopped as soon as he saw her. He tried to cover his shock, but Tohru had seen it all ready pass over his face.

"…Good morning, may I help you with something?" Hatori asked uncertainly.

"No, nothing really…How's Kisa?" Tohru said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Fine…" Hatori said, studying her closer.

"That's good. I'm guessing she told you about the problems she's been going through, I hope that's what she did anyway…I hope she's doing better than she was when I saw her last." Tohru said beginning to babble.

"You…Were the one that talked her into admitting what was wrong with her?" Hatori asked slowly.

"Oh, sure. You see, we sort of bumped into each other unexpectedly, and we did some catching up." Tohru said with a slight smile.

Hatori frowned as he leaned back in his seat, obviously not happy with what was happening right now.

"So…How are you? Excuse me for being rude, I should've asked earlier." Tohru said, as she felt herself babbling again.

"Let's just cut the casualties and get right to the point. What are you doing here?" Hatori said irritably.

"Oh, right. You see, I'm doing some sort of an interview you see, with all of your family members. I know that they've changed, and I want to find out their reasons for changing and what I can do to make it better, seeing as it is kind of my fault that their lives kind of fell apart in the first place…"

"How is it that you know all this? How do you even remember?" Hatori said impatiently.

"Oh, it's a long story. See, I kind of was with Kagura for a while and she was the one that kind of helped me to remember and she told me what was going on, and I really haven't talked to very many people yet because I don't know where most them are but still I…"

Hatori held up a hand to stop her and slowly started to seethe at what Kagura had done. This was not what was supposed to happen.

"Tohru, I hope you do realize that although your reasons might be very good to get our family back together, the rash actions that Kagura took will allow you to get your memory erased once again." Hatori said.

"I know that, but I'm not giving up." Tohru said indignantly.

"What do you mean you're not giving up? You don't have a choice in what you can or cannot do in this family because you are no longer supposed to be a part of it." Hatori said coolly.

"I know, but still…I can't help it. I feel so horrible; everything wonderful about this family fell apart because of me. I just need to make things right. Besides, Kagura told me that things haven't exactly been easy for you either Hatori."

Hatori's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed.

"What was it that Kagura told you?" He asked dangerously.

"She told me how you put yourself under a lot of pressure after you erased my memory this was the second person that was apparently dear to you and the family whose memories you had to erase. She also mentioned how you and Mayu started to get close, and how you started to date. And she also mentioned that Mayu died unfortunately of cancer a year ago leaving you alone again. Now you're even more involved with your work than you ever were before and you barely ever…" Tohru trailed off as Hatori glared at her.

"I think it's for the best if you just forgot what Kagura said. My private life should not have to get broadcast to others, and it should not be your concern." Hatori spoke sharply.

"But, you are! You are my concern! This whole family is my concern Hatori! If something's bothering you or any of them, I want to know about it. I want to help you, all of you, in whatever way I can. Please Hatori…Please…Just let me stay…Let me fix everything." Tohru pleaded.

"You can't be serious. The world does not fall on your shoulder Tohru, you can't be expected to fix everybody's problems."

"But I want to!"

"Well maybe some people don't want you to!" Hatori said, his voice rising sharply.

Tohru stood in surprise at his sudden flare in temper. She turned around slowly.

"Right, well, um…Sorry for bothering you…It…Won't happen again. I promise." And with that, she closed the door.

Hatori looked at the door and gave out a long sigh. This was not good; it was time to call for "back-up" so that further of these encounters with everybody else could be prevented. Compared to most of the other members, Tohru had gotten off easily with Hatori's temper. Who knew what some of the others would do to her?

&&&&&&

Shigure sat within the confines of his office, gazing out into the backyard. He did miss those happy days that had just seemed to stretch on forever, but like Hatori had said once, all dreams must end.

It was sad really, with Tohru gone the light had just faded out of his house, even out of himself. Now he spent his days sitting at his computer writing the latest chapter for an upcoming novel, without the fun of torturing Mii. (Sp?) It was amazing how fast those days had come to an end.

Often times Shigure didn't even really miss Tohru, it was mostly Melody that he seemed to miss the most. After Melody was born, she had become his second flower. You'd enter her room and her eyes would light up, and she would get so excited to see you, even if she had just seen you a few minutes earlier in another room. She was always so enthusiastic, with a huge smile on her face, and laughter escaping from her lips. She was always happy. And she was so much like her mother too, for someone so young; she understood the world and the people around her so well. She always could sense when you were sad or happy, and she'd feel the same way you were right along with you. Shigure had adored her. Ayame was the one who had often joked around by saying how Melody was the one person in this world that he hadn't manipulated or teased, which was true for the most part. Even on a few occasions he had even manipulated Kisa from time to time.

He could still remember how painful that was for him and Tohru when her memories had to be erased. He could still remember vividly of how he had to push Melody away from him when she had reached out to him, how stunned and hurt she had felt. He still felt guilty about doing so, even though it had been four years ago. He often longed for that adorable girl to come back into his life along with her mother with her bright smile, and her quick thinking on how to handle a situation that came at hand, not to mention her wonderful cooking.

Shigure also still couldn't get that night out of his head when Tohru had come down to his house begging to know who she was. He had just wanted to shake her by the shoulders and tell her everything, but he couldn't. And that guy that was with her, there was something not right about him. He treated her more like a vulnerable, stupid child than anything else. Ever since the incident that had occurred with Jake, he had become very wary of the men Tohru got involved with.

Shigure was pulled out of his thoughts sharply by the insistent ringing of the telephone.

"Yes? Hello Hari! And what do I owe the pleasure?" Shigure asked, putting a fake pleasant tone in his voice.

There was a long pause and Shigure nearly dropped the phone in surprise.

"She what?"

&&&&&&

Tohru approached the dojo with Kyo at hand. The main reason why Tohru had freed Kyo was to not only see him again, but also because she didn't want to visit all these people by herself and Kyo always had been able to reassure her in whatever way possible. Not to mention the fact that Kyo was actually pretty good on reading his family, and he was able to offer a lot of helpful advice.

As a token of her gratitude, Tohru decided to bring Kyo to see his father, Kazuma. Kazuma had been very pleased to see both Kyo and Tohru. Tohru had ended up spilling out her entire tale of the past month or so.

As they were leaving the dojo now, Tohru stopped short as Shigure and Ayame came around the back to greet them. How they had even known she was here, she had no idea. Kazuma never would've told.

Shigure raised his eyes up and looked directly at Tohru, who then realized that she was alone, seeing as Kyo had bolted, knowing that the adults would surely take him away again even in Tohru's great need of help.

So, she had to face the two men on her own.

"Tohru…It's good to see you again." Shigure said with a slight bow.

Ayame also gave a slight nod in a greeting.

Tohru swallowed hard. This couldn't be happening to her. Hatori had obviously told them that she remembered, but how had they managed to find her?

She felt herself slowly easing into panic mode again, which she seemed to be doing quite often in this family.

Shigure had obviously sensed something and he held up his hand as a way to hopefully calm her down somehow.

"Now, Tohru, calm down, we just need to talk to you." Shigure said as he slowly approached her.

No, they didn't want to talk to her. Hatori had had them gang up on her, they must've been following her, which probably meant that they had seen Kyo. They'd lock him away and leave him for dead for sure. Tohru could all ready feel the tears welling up in her eyes, for once, she was outnumbered, not to mention these were the two most dangerous men in the Sohma family, not to mention Shigure was quite well known for manipulating people to do what he wanted. He would obviously trick her into coming with him.

Shigure's face softened slightly. "Tohru, we're not going to hurt you, we just want to…"

Tohru backed up tentatively.

"Honestly Tohru, its not like we're about to kill you or anything like that we just want to…"

And with that, Tohru bolted for the woods; not caring what they must think of her, she couldn't lose what she had just started. Not now, not ever, she wouldn't give up on the Sohma family no matter what the costs.

&&&&&&

Hope you liked, sorry if that was a bad ending. Please leave a review on your way out!


	6. A Twist in Fate

I am so sorry! School and dance got in the way of my updating! I hope I don't lose readers because of my late update! Please leave a review on your way out…I live off of reviews!

&&&&&&

That's it. Keep running, that's all you have to do is keep running farther and farther away from them. They're the enemy after all, aren't they?

"_What am I doing? I'm running away from Shigure and Ayame? They'd never hurt me. So why am I running?" _Tohru wondered as she continued to race through the woods.

As she ran, memories came back to haunt her, memories that she wished she could just forget…

"_Jake? Where are you taking me? Where are we going?" A panicked Tohru asked. _

"_It's a surprise. You'll see soon enough. It's someplace special, a place just for you." _

_Soon, darkness surrounded the timid teenager as she fought to escape the blackness._

"_No! Somebody help me! I can't see! I can't breathe! There's something here that's killing me! Somebody help!" Her frantic cries were to no avail as the chemicals slowly and painfully began to suck the oxygen out of her lungs as she fought to breathe, and to stay alive. _

_Where am I now? What's wrong with me? I can't see? Am I still in the dark? Where am I?_

"_Ah, good Tohru, you're awake. You're in the hospital right now. Do you recall that anything that happened to you this morning?"_

_This morning? But wasn't I locked away in that dark room at night?_

"_You were in a car accident, you were hit by a car. You lost your eyesight and your ability to walk."_

_No! I'll be in the dark again! I can't be in the dark again! It will…Suffocate me._

Tohru gasped as she stumbled and came to a stop, losing her balance and catching it on a tree trunk.

"_I have to go back. I can't even imagine what Shigure must be thinking right now. I'm such an idiot. Is that what I do, is run away?" _

Tohru shivered as she felt a sense of déjà vu. She looked out into the ongoing woods and felt another memory press up against her eyes, blinding her from the world around her.

_A leering smile loomed out of the darkness, followed by flat, cold gray eyes. _

"_You will finally forget. You have interfered for far too long. You have caused my family some pain, and that must end today. You will have no memory of us, as it should be. You will forever be alone, and the world shall be right again."_

Tohru gritted her teeth. No. She wasn't going to forget she wasn't going to be left alone in the darkness anymore. This madness had to stop. And it was going to stop…Now.

&&&&&&

"Well, that went well." Ayame said sarcastically.

Shigure's lips drew into a tight line as she watched the figure retreat further and further away until she was gone.

Ayame looked at him suspiciously. "What are you thinking about?"

"She was too terrified, something else must've been wrong. We must've caught her off guard. But still, something else is wrong. I can't shake this feeling that there was someone with her, and that that someone is watching us right now."

Ayame glanced around and gave a nervous laugh. "Ah Shigure, you're so funny. I'm sure it was nothing, just one of those feelings that everyone gets. Maybe we should get going before these ideas get to your head." Ayame tugged on Shigure's arm, trying to persist the man to start moving.

Shigure squinted as he noticed a figure in the trees. The figure appeared startled that he had noticed him, and he quickly darted farther into the trees.

"What?" Ayame asked, looking where the figure just was.

"Yuki is not going to be pleased. It appears that the cat is freed, and freed by none other than Tohru Honda." Shigure said.

Ayame glanced up at the tress again, which only made the man more nervous that the cat was lurking about.

"But…How did she…?"

"…I don't know. Let's get back. We have to inform Yuki." Shigure said.

Ayame gulped and followed his colleague as the two men disappeared.

&&&&&&

"Careful, he's in an irritable mood." Hatori said monotonously as they approached the door to the God's room.

"Way to make us feel better Hari." Ayame said sarcastically.

Hatori gave him a reprimanding look before opening the door and ushering the two men in, who quickly knelt in respect on the floor.

The three of them waited uncomfortably for Yuki to make some movement.

After a few moments, Yuki slowly sat up. "What's the matter? Why do you come to me?"

"Yuki, we have unfortunate news. The Cat has been set free, and I believe he was set free under the hands of Tohru Honda." Shigure said slowly.

Yuki's head snapped around, a purple fire burning in his eyes.

""Find them. Find them both and bring them to me. Tohru must be punished for her crime, and the Cat must also be punished…Strictly." Yuki said menacingly, as he slammed his fist on the floor.

Shigure bowed. "As you wish."

&&&&&&

Tohru didn't even know how she had gotten in here. It was the first safe haven that she saw, and she ran in, trying to clear her mind of her thoughts.

Her head spun and she sat down at the table of the bar. She was at some nightclub, and she watched nervously as dangerous people passed her, some men even leering at her. A few times a waiter would come over and offer her a beer, which she would quickly decline.

As she glanced around the crowded area, knowing all ready that this was a bad place to be, she spotted black and white spiky hair. Tohru gasped, and jumped up, knocking her chair over and quickly began to make her way through the ever-growing crowd.

Where'd he go? Tohru scanned the room around quickly before spotting him again near the exit with two boys and a girl. Both were laughing as they smoked cigarettes and sipped their beers. Tohru began to become more and more nervous as she got closer.

Maybe she was hallucinating, maybe he really wasn't here, and she was just becoming dizzy from the party scene. Soon, she approached him, and before she even knew what she was doing, she was giving his shirtsleeve a tentative tug.

"WHAT?" Haru thundered, whipping around as beer sloshed onto the floor and onto his clothes. His friends laughed at him as he began to swear at her. It was obvious that Haru was drunk, so drunk that he was barely even standing.

"Um…Hatsuharu…Do you remember me? My name is Tohru Honda, I used to live with your family." Tohru asked uncomfortably.

Haru squinted and he began to stumble forward, and she was afraid that he was going to fall on top of her. Luckily, he managed to catch his balance, as his friends continued to snicker at him.

"Tohru Honda, eh? Yeah, I know her. But I doubt you're her. Tohru was a…A traitor…Yeah. She was a bitch. Just up and left us without a care in the world while we had to go through all sorts of shit while she could continue to move on with her fucking life." Haru said as he continued to sway dangerously.

Tohru flinched at the harsh words, but stood her ground. "Well, she's back now. She wants to help you, get your life back on track, that's all she wants, and she does apologize for the pain she caused you." She said meekly.

"Pain? Ha! I'm beyond pain. Look at me, I'm a drunken bum for God sake, and I'm loving every minute of it!" Haru began to laugh as he whipped around as his friends began to tease him.

It was obvious that Black Haru had completely taken control, and that he was here to stay. Tohru sighed, wondering what it would've been like if Haru weren't drunk; he probably would've attacked her.

She shuddered, and began to take her leave. She had had enough partying for one night.

&&&&&&

Kyo continued to walk hurriedly through the woods.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! It was obvious that Shigure had seen him. He was such an idiot for standing around; he should've followed Tohru.

He gritted his teeth in frustration as he plowed through his hazed thoughts.

He shouldn't have even gone to see Kazuma. Kazuma could just as easily tell someone he was free. They would be on him in a second, especially Shigure, seeing as he had always been a suck-up to God. Either way, he had only been free for three days with Tohru, and all ready he was being put into confinement.

He swore under his breath as he realized he had taken a wrong turn and he was now lost. He had to find Tohru; they had to get out of here. They would both be on big trouble if the two of them were presented to God.

Kyo whipped around in a wild wave of panic. Unfortunately, he didn't see the figure that was looming in the shadows. Soon a sharp impact came to his head, before blackness consumed him.

&&&&&&

Kyo bared his teeth at Yuki who glowered back at him.

"Damn Rat." Kyo muttered.

"Stupid Cat." Yuki hissed.

The two glared at each other before Shigure cleared his throat, and the two were snapped back to reality.

"So…I see that someone has set you free…A certain girl, perhaps?"

Kyo glared at Yuki as Yuki continued to glare at him.

"You do realize that this calls for a finer state of confinement, but we can't go through with that until we capture your savior." Yuki said icily.

Kyo shot up and Shigure and Hatori had to push him back down, and restrain him.

"Damn it! If you lay a finger on her, I swear I'll…"

"…You'll what? You're just the Cat! What can you possibly do? Besides, you know as well as I do that I would never harm Miss Honda in any way!" Yuki snapped.

"That's funny, seeing as the way you're talking, it's almost as if you want to hurt her." Kyo shot back.

"That's just the God spirit talking and you know it!" Yuki thundered.

"Oh, so if you see Tohru is the "God spirit" going to leap out and attack her?" Kyo shouted.

"Shut up and get out!" Yuki thundered, gesticulating wildly.

Hatori and Shigure quickly dragged Kyo out of the room as he continued to yell profanities at the Rat.

Yuki sighed, and slumped down in his seat, what had happened to him? Was this really what he was becoming? Was he becoming Akito, his worst nightmare?

Yuki shuddered at the thought as the years of abuse he had to endure with Akito came back. He had to fight it, then. He wasn't going to give in to that side of him, he would not turn into a monster like Akito did. He had to…For Tohru.

&&&&&&

Melody was a relatively frail four-year-old girl. For most of the time, she was a pretty normal child. Still, every time she heard the name "Shigure" or "Sohma" something struck her. Melody, being only four, didn't know what this feeling was.

Often times she had tried to explain it to Ken, but he had always ignored her, and didn't understand her. And her mother, well, she was never home. She had even tried getting her words out to Uuo, who kept on mentioning the names of the Sohmas, but even Uuo didn't seem to listen to the little girl's weak attempts to hear stories of the family Uuo spoke so much about. She didn't understand why her mother was so upset when the names were mentioned; it was so confusing to her.

Now, she sat coloring on a children's place mat as her mother's friend continued on with her shift. Just as Melody was about to get bored sitting in the booth alone coloring, she saw the door open and two men walked in. Melody felt that familiar pang as she looked at them. They sat down at a booth seriously, and talked in the corner of the restaurant.

Melody tentatively made her way towards the two of them. She felt drawn to them, and she didn't even know what to say when she approached.

The two men hadn't seemed to notice her, and she continued to walk slowly towards them, occasionally looking over her shoulder to see if her babysitter had noticed.

Shigure, who was deep in conversation with Hatori about the current situation in their family hadn't even noticed the little girl.

Melody's heart leapt into her throat as she felt the sudden connection click into place. She saw this man sitting before her tossing her up into the air, comforting her, playing with her, drying her tears.

Melody reached her shaking fingers out towards this man and touched his sleeve. "'Gure?" She asked slowly.

Shigure looked down, startled, and looked into the eyes of the beautiful girl he had been wondering about stood before him, and his eyes softened.

"Hello, my little flower."

&&&&&&

_For centuries, the cursed Sohma family has always had a God, and that God has always died, as is the way. But, there is a catch. Every one hundred years, a God is chosen. Someone that is not within the Sohma family lines. _

_This person is someone with nothing but kindness in their heart, this person can be the key to unlocking the secrets of the curse, and freeing them. _

_This person has unusual bonds with the family, this person could never see these people before, but know that they are family. There is no way to reverse this person from being the new God. The most powerful magic cannot draw this God away from the family. _

_One hundred years has passed, and a God has been chosen. The previous God tried to stop it from happening, by placing the spirit of the God into the hands of another. What this God did not realize, was that this transition was a failure. This person may contain the spirit of the God, but he does not hold the power of the God. _

_The new God is someone the spirits chose before it was even born, the spirits made an unusual choice, but there is no way to reverse what's been decided. The fate of the Sohma family does not lie within the hands of a twenty-two year old girl. It lies in the hands of her daughter, a four-year-old girl by the name of Melody._

&&&&&&

So, did you like it? Once again, I apologize for the really late update. Please leave reviews on your way out!


	7. Panic and Shock Don't Mix

Sorry for the late update everyone! Here's chapter 7! Please review!

&&&&&&

Momiji gave out a loud sigh to express his obvious boredom. He had received an urgent call from Hatori stating that he needed to come home immediately for urgent "family matters". Yet another pointless excuse to get him home and away from school.

He shifted his bag in irritation and glanced at his watch. Hiro, who was seventeen and perfectly capable of driving on his own, was supposed to have picked him up thirty minutes ago when his plane arrived. As usual, Hiro's needs came first and he was late…And Momiji was really starting to get impatient.

Just when he felt the need to scream out in frustration and call a cab, Hiro came rushing in, spotted him, and quickly raced over and grabbed his bags.

"You're late." Momiji said coolly, crossing his arms.

Hiro murmured something inaudible and began to lead Momiji to his car. Before he did so, he did pull out a cigarette…No doubt loaded with pot. Hiro's features really hadn't changed as much as some of the others. He still had the same tousled dirty blonde hair and dark brown/red eyes. The only difference was that he was taller and his shoulders were a lot broader, and he was a lot more muscular. Ever since Tohru had left, it was obvious that her leaving had effected Hiro. Although Hiro had always referred to Tohru as a "stupid girl" it was obvious that he had some sort of soft spot for the teenager. Since she had left, he had become more of a tough guy, seeing as he didn't have Tohru around to lead him on the right path, or telling Kisa for him to stop. Often times Hiro was suspended from school along with Kisa. Both of them had become extremely close, and it was hard to tell who got whom started on drugs first. The point was that they had gotten into the wrong crowd, and no one seemed to have the authority or the guts to stop them.

Momiji shook his head in exasperation at the young ram. No doubt this would be a fun reunion as usual…

&&&&&&

"Dumb ass." Haru said as a greeting.

Hiro glowered at him and shoved past him, cursing him all the way. For some reason these two hadn't gotten along since Tohru left. Reasons were unknown, but what the family believed happened was Haru had tried to stop Hiro from doing drugs, and it had caused a major argument which lead to where they were today. Momiji still wondered why Haru had tried to even help Hiro, sure he was young and all, but Haru was just as screwed up as he was. Momiji could even smell the booze on Haru, and it wasn't even noon yet.

Momiji gave out another sigh at his two cousins and narrowed his eyes at Haru, who he used to consider one of his best friends.

"That's no way to welcome your cousin home who was on a completely different continent."

"Who missed ya?" Haru shot back before storming into a room a little ways down the hall.

"Yep…One big happy family." Momiji stated to himself before following Haru.

&&&&&&

Hiro swallowed as he watched Yuki enter the room. All ready he could feel himself trying to swallow the bile that was rising in the back of his throat. Hiro hated this feeling he got. Yuki was his cousin for God sake. He shouldn't have to have this sense of fear, he hated being afraid, and it wasn't fair! He wasn't afraid of anything except his own cousin! Stupid curse…He hated it right down to his marrow…Whoever created this curse…Which was most likely the first Rat…He hoped he was rotting in the depths of Hell.

Yuki knelt down in front of the family, which even that appeared to intimidate Hiro, who twitched involuntarily.

"We are all gathered here because Hatori and Shigure have both discovered something significant to our family." Yuki said monotonously,

Hiro glanced up sharply at Hatori and Shigure, who both shifted. They appeared to be having a small argument with each other and it looked like Hatori lost.

Hatori cleared his throat before speaking, "It's come to _our_ attention," Hatori emphasized the word "our" and glared at Shigure before continuing, "that there might be a slight problem with the curse."

Yuki blinked as Hatori paused.

Soon, he continued, "The other night Shigure and I were at a local diner, and Melody was there. She knew exactly who we were. Seeing as Melody was only a baby, and memories don't develop until the age of three, we found this quite odd. Although I do recall that Melody was supposed to be the new God of the Zodiac before Akito died. We're beginning to wonder of perhaps the curse of the God did not fully leave Melody, and that as of right now, she is God."

"God, I could really care for a cigarette right about now." Hiro muttered.

Hatori glared at him reproachfully.

"This makes no sense, you told me that the spirit of God was inside me, and you have the same fear that you had towards Akito." Yuki said darkly.

"Yes, well, we're still not sure how that worked out. We think it might be half-and-half in a way. The half of the God that evokes pain inside us is with you, and the half of the God that makes us feel a sense of love is within Melody. So, we basically have two Gods which is not possible within our family." Shigure said.

"So…What does this mean exactly? Our family is being thrown into complete chaos?" Momiji said impatiently.

"Not exactly…See the last time something like this occurred it was within the 1500s era and it caused a major war between the Sohma family, basically the cursed against the rest. What was decided was that there should be a sacrifice and everything would be restored to normal within the family." Hatori said.

"WHAT?" Kagura exclaimed.

"Who have you decided?" Yuki asked.

"You're not going to sacrifice _Melody_ are you?" Kagura asked, panic rising in her voice.

"Well we can't kill Yuki either." Hiro shot back.

"It would make more sense to sacrifice Melody seeing as she hasn't lived as long." Hatori said thoughtfully.

"I can't believe we're actually discussing this! This is just wrong! We should go against the rules just this once! It's not like we're going to get penalized or hunted because of it!" Kagura shouted.

"But…It's the way of the curse…" Shigure began.

"To Hell with the curse!" Kagura screamed.

"KAGURA! WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!" Hatori finally thundered, losing his temper.

"Yes we do! We've always had a choice! Always! We didn't always have to obey the rules. We didn't have to obey Akito when he asked for Tohru's memories to be erased, we didn't have to listen to Akito when he wanted Kyo put into confinement, we didn't need to do any of it. There's the curse, and then there's ourselves. We should've always followed what we felt what was right. We knew most of the stuff that happened was wrong. We could've stopped it if we just really stopped and had the guts, we could've prevented this huge mess!" Kagura yelled.

Hatori glared at her.

"Honestly Hatori, our lives are all ready screwed up with what's going on with Tohru, but do you really want the murder of a little girl to be on your conscious?" Kagura snapped.

"What's going on with Tohru?" Momiji asked.

"Oh, that's right, you wouldn't know. It appears that Tohru might've gotten her memory back." Shigure said calmly.

"What?" Momiji asked.

"Nobody tells us anything." Hiro whined.

"Yeah! Thanks for leaving us in the dark!" Momiji snapped.

Shigure gave out an exasperated sigh. "Can we please get back on topic?"

"I refuse to discuss this!" Kagura exclaimed, on the verge of hysteria.

"Kagura…I understand that this is difficult for you…But there's a good possibility that Melody will most likely be sacrificed." Hatori said softly.

Kagura's eyes slid over to Yuki who had paled considerably, and he looked disgusted with the very idea of killing a young girl. Kagura, of course, knew better than to come out and point something out like that. That wasn't how it worked in this family. Yuki would probably shout at her for even revealing something like that.

Kagura gave out a sigh in defeat. It looked like everyone's minds were made up as she stared at the faces of her family. Melody would be killed and Kagura would be powerless to stop it.

&&&&&&

Tohru wearily dragged herself into her apartment. After the hysteria that occurred today, the young woman was thoroughly exhausted.

Just as she was about to doze off, she noticed Melody watching her.

"What's the matter? Can't sleep?" Tohru asked groggily.

Melody wriggled around uncomfortably before looking up at Tohru again. "Why don't we live with 'Gure anymore?"

Tohru's eyes widened in horror. This could not be happening, now.

"How did you find out about Shigure?" Tohru asked slowly.

"I saw him at the diner." Melody said with a shrug.

"And…You recognized him?" Tohru asked.

Melody nodded.

Tohru watched her for a long time. "We'll discuss this in the morning."

Melody stood up and walked away, pouting. Tohru pondered over the predicament that had occurred.

Standing up with a frown on her face, Tohru went over to her laptop and opened up onto a search sight and typed in the words: "Zodiac Curse". Tohru was surprised to find pages upon pages of information on the Curse and she clicked onto one that claimed to know the whole history of the curse.

The web page went on to describe basic facts that she all ready knew, and it also went into a few theories. Many scientists seemed to believe that the Curse might've been caused by some genetic mutation that gave these people advanced x genes. It also went into how the people might only transform when hugged because added body heat caused some sort of reaction that set off their animal forms. Others even went so far that scientists or even aliens had run tests on these "specimens" and had created a new type of human.

Tohru shook her head in disgust at the ridiculous knowledge. Nobody could just accept a curse for a curse anymore. Everything had to have some scientific meaning to it. Tohru was about to exit the site when she noticed a theory on how the cursed classified their God.

Tohru furrowed her eyebrow and went onto read how the God might have come about. The article also went into some information about specific laws with God. Tohru came across one that made her heart stop.

_"In some rare cases in a cursed family, there may sometimes be two Gods. This does not come across very often, and can often be rare. It has occurred. According to a recent historical expedition done by archaeologists, there were some transcripts dated back to the late fifteen hundreds. The author has stated that there was one God that was dying, and one God that was all ready to come forward to replace the death of the ancient God. The story goes to tell that the dying God refused to have this new God lead His family. He requested that an ancient ritual be performed to place the spirit of the God into the body who he felt was most worthy to lead his family. The ritual was done, and it was soon discovered only days after the ancient God's death, that an error had occurred. The spirit had appeared to divide itself in half. This accessed one person to a lovable side, and another person to an evil side. Call it a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde occurrence if you will. At any rate the two Gods fought against each other dividing the cursed, and the humans. In the end one was killed, and it was decided that should ever an occurrence happen again, that one shall be sacrificed to prevent any other family wars…"_

Tohru's blood ran cold as she suddenly got a flash of a memory in the back of her mind. Melody had been the chosen God and Akito had refused. He had asked that Yuki become the new God in Melody's place. The deed was done, but according to this article, that was not so. Melody could still possibly have the spirit of God still inside of her. That would explain how she had known who Shigure was, after all, this was an unbreakable bond.

Tohru frantically looked around the room, as if at any minute she would become ambushed. She couldn't allow Melody to get taken away from her by the Sohmas. She had to leave. The Sohmas knew where she lived.

She darted to the door to her room and frantically packed a few things, having no idea where her destination would even lie. In a panic she ran into Melody's room and hastily packed a few of her things, and swooped Melody into her arms before running to the door, stumbling all the way.

Tohru fumbled with the lock as she tried to get free. Finally, she was able to fling the door open.

"Going somewhere?" A cold voice asked gruffly.

Tohru stumbled backwards in shock and tried to slam the door, but the figure quickly stopped it from slamming and held it in place.

Tohru gave out a scream of pure fear and…

&&&&&&

I hope that was okay, I know it was short and I'm sorry. I also apologize for the late update, and I'm sorry if the ending was kind of stupid. Please review to tell me what you think! If you don't review, I'll be forced to think you hated the chapter!


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